


Any Other Day

by MerpTheNarwhal



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Death, Phan Angst, Phan Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-28
Updated: 2016-11-28
Packaged: 2018-09-02 19:45:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8681044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MerpTheNarwhal/pseuds/MerpTheNarwhal
Summary: How would a fan react if Dan and Phil were to die suddenly?





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I'm MerpTheNarwhal and I'm new to ao3; this is my first fanfic on here so I hope you enjoy!

May 28…

I stared intensely at the calendar and it seemed to stare back at me. Mocking me. Saying:

“What’re you gonna do now, Eva? Are you gonna cry like the little bitch that you are?” 

Any other day, I wouldn’t have this conversation with the calendar. Or any calendar for that matter. I could hear more ramblings, louder ramblings, but they weren’t from inside my head like usual. 

Suddenly, the piercing stare of my teacher, Mrs. Harver, on me but more importantly, on my blank sheet of paper. I pretended not to notice her and continued looking off into the distance. The game of dictator looks down upon the measly peasant pressed on…

“Come on, say something I fucking dare you. Do anything. Shout. Kick me out. I don’t care.”

“Make sure you all take notes as this will be on the test next week.” Mrs. Harver advised the class out loud. 

I internally debated wether that was a coward or mature, adult act. After which, I became mentally frustrated and casually looked on the board to see what topic we were covering today:

Trigonometry 

I let out a mixture of a scoff and a chuckle. A scoff for the irony and a chuckle at the universe’s desperate attempt to somewhat cheer me up. 

Any other day, my page would’ve been full with post-school useless notes. 

Any other day, I would’ve already started planning out my afterschool schedule. 

Any other day, I might have taken the time to care about all this.

Any other day would’ve been a normal day.

But today wasn’t a normal day…

Today was May 28, 2017…

One year…

One year ago, Dan Howell and Phil Lester were officially declared dead.

The bell rang and I proceed to my next class: Art. Great… another thing I suck at. Honestly, Art wasn’t even a class, it was more of a classroom full of the school’s delinquents and rejects so obviously I was placed there. I was the reject, the one no one noticed through the hallways. But luckily, I found friends who shared my interests and accepted my flaws.

I entered the classroom and sat in a seat already preserved for me by my friends. 

“Hey Eva! How’s life been.” My friend, Kathy, asked

I didn’t want to talk about my actual state of mind. At least not today.

“It was okay, I guess. Nothing much going on.” I replied 

I guess she took as a sign to leave me be because she went on to converse with other students about the new high school gossip. 

We were in that stage in the school year where no one gave a fuck about anything, teachers and students alike. Therefore, our art teacher played on a documentary about Pablo Picasso while he stressed about the inevitable divorce with his wife. 

As the movie played and the other kids chattered on, I laid my head down on my hands and reflected on what happened the year before…

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I remembered it so clearly, how could I not? The events replayed in my mind like a new catchy song that no matter how much you wanted it to end, no amount of pleading would make it stop.

My parents were out of town for a family reunion that I, thank God, didn’t have to attend and my older brothers were off to ComicCon; therefore I had the house to myself. I always hated being alone so that’s why I invited my best friend, Dani, to keep me company. It was the last day of school so we planned a sleepover. We had planned out every day of our 3 day sleepover extravaganza:

Day 1:   
-Go ghost hunting around the house   
-Read scary stories until we either freak ourselves out or pass out from exhaustion 

Day 2:  
-Prank call random numbers  
\- Spend the rest of the night watching old childhood movies 

Day 3:   
\- Main Goal: Have an Internet Homo Day  
-Eat junk/fast food and watch YouTube   
-Introduce each other the other’s fandoms

I was planning to introduce Dani to Dan and Phil that day. They had both said via Twitter that a new gaming video was to hopefully be uploaded that day. 

I wonder what game they played in the video…

"Damn it’s so freaking out hot out here.” Dani exclaimed while I was unlocking my front door.

“Well we do live in California. The grand oven of the West Coast. Come one, come all!”

“Shut up and just open the damn door already.” Dani exclaimed while vigorously fanning herself with the top of her shirt

“You know that’s only gonna make you hotter.” 

“I don’t have time for your science-y bullshit. Just. Open. The. Door.”

“Well maybe I won’t open the door then.”

“Oh my god, don’t even joke about it. I’ll kill you to get in there and we both know it.”

I laughed as I opened the door for her like a butler would. Except we weren’t greeted with trays of luxurious foods but instead glorious air conditioning.

“FREEDOM AT LAST!!!” Dani shouted aloud as she purposely fell onto the floor.

“Yes indeed. Now can you please go get my laptop so we can compile our list for scary stories. I’ll get the snacks.”

“Ok.” She said as she raced up the stairs to my bedroom.

I swung my backpack in a corner of the kitchen and opened the pantry: Doritos, Lays, Cheetos, a tray of Milky Ways and Snickers among so many more obesity stricken foods.

Oh.

Hell.

Yes.

I poured every chip bag into bowl, pretending to be a master chef at the start of his most beautiful creation. 

“Hey! Your porn tab is still playing.” Dani said as she came down the stairs holding my laptop.

"What?”

“Nah jk. But you did get 2 YouTube notifications. Let’s see… from AmazingPhil and Danisnotonfire? What kind of names are those?”

I nearly jumped from excitement. I yanked the laptop from Dani. I couldn’t wait 10 minutes to watch a new video from Dan or Phil, nevermind 2 days. Plus, 2 AT THE SAME TIME?! Yea we’re watching these ASAP.

“Guess it’s time for you to meet Dan and Phil!” 

Another notification popped up except this time it was for low battery.

“Fuck, guess I must’ve used more battery than I thought. Go upstairs and plug it in the charger. I’ll meet you up there with the snacks.”

"You’re making me do A LOT OF EXERCISE AND I DON’T LIKE IT!” Dani shouted as she once again went up the stairs. 

I, not so elegantly, balanced every snack on my arms and relied more on luck and fate than actual statistics and odds as I went up the stairs.

I busted through the doors nearly toppling over, making Dani fall off the bed in laughter.

“If you wanna go snack-less this entire weekend, I suggest you help me.”

And with that she stood up and unloaded some of the snacks and set them on the bed.

The laptop already had the iconic YouTube Play Button followed by the equally iconic home page. I clicked on my subscription box and saw the 2 videos I had eagerly been waiting to watch…

They were the same. Exactly the same. 

Same Thumbnail: A black screen

Same Title: An Update

Same Time Duration: 4:10

I refreshed the page about 5 times, convinced this was just another annoying YouTube glitch. Yet nothing, no matter how many times I refreshed everything stayed the same.

“Uhhh… okay…” I mumbled 

I clicked on one of the videos, prepared yet utterly confused. 

The video started normal, it was Dan and Phil walking throughout Chicago; they talked about the city and many monuments. My suspicions began to crumble down slowly.

They walked around the city, getting the occasional weird stare as they passed. They eventually got back on their tour bus after venturing the city. Dan made a comment on Phil’s unfinished stack of pancakes and Phil responded with a defense joke.

Suddenly, everything changed. The setting changed from a moderately clean tour bus with laughter filling the environment to a receptionist desk inside a quiet, dull building with hussle and bussle everywhere. A place so quiet and sulken yet cries of sadness, pain, hope, and happiness were all heard together.

Immediately, it clicked in my brain: A Hospital.

The video stayed at this scene for about 3 seconds when a subtle “Oh” could be heard behind the camera. The camera turned around and none other than Martyn, Phil’s brother.

“Who’s that?” Dani asked

“Sh!” I hissed at her as I put my finger over her lips

The video continued with him confirming that he was indeed in a hospital. He stood up from the chair he’d been sitting on, began walking and explained that they’d been in an accident. He showed his broken arm in a sling and explained Cornelia had injuries around the same scale: a mild concussion and a broken ankle. They had both been released after some hours undergoing general checkups; she’d had gone back to a hotel they were staying at. His voice got a bit somber and he asked:

"You’re most likely wondering where my little brother and Dan are at.”

He stopped walking in front of a particular hospital door. Inside, there was a curtain covering 2 beds, that were clearly visible underneath the end of the curtain. 

“Fuck, I can’t watch anymore. Tell me when it’s over.” I said covering my face with my hands

I heard the sound of the curtain being pulled and a sudden gasp from Dani

“Oh god…” Dani said after her sharp gasp.

“Fuck I’m gonna regret this. Oh well, here I go.” I thought as I slowly removed my hands.

Holy hell, did I regret uncovering my eyes…

Behind the curtain were two hospital beds that held two critically injured bodies. Dan and Phil themselves.

Dan was covered in bruises and deep, skin piercing gashes. Both his arms were in casts. He was hooked up to several menacing looking machines that were ironically the only things keeping him alive. His breath was shallow, his skin was an unsuitable shade of white, he looked as if any human contact would trigger a tsunami of blarring alarms from the machines. Phil was no better; he had blood soaked bandages covering his head and the rest of his body for that matter. He had most of his bruises and gashes on his face; the most notable being on the left side of his face: a giant gash running from above his left eyebrow to under the left side of his lip. Just like Dan, he was connected to several machines that helped keep him alive just to see another hour. 

There they were. Motionless, speechless, maybe even lifeless for all we knew. The two men I had seen a minute ago, laughing and enjoying life with the other to share the experience with. Now barely even maintaining a shred of a life and not even on their own. According to Martyn, the internal damage was worse than the physical with each respectively having several broken ribs, massive amounts of internal bleeding, and a few failed organs. 

But I wasn’t paying too much attention. I was more focused on trying to keep myself from vomiting and bursting out in tears.

“Eva, I don’t think we should keep going…” Dani said

“No, I have to keep watching. I just want to finish it. Look it’s at the 3:50 mark, we’re almost done.” I said, trying to convince myself to pull through.

Dani reluctantly nodded her head and we continued.

One last jump cut was made. I couldn’t be sure how much time passed, perhaps it was a couple of hours. Martyn was inside Dan and Phil’s room; he was talking about the accident when the machines starting blarring off. Doctors and nurses rushed in and ushered Martyn out the door as he asked what was going on.

I only heard three sounds in the last 20 seconds of that video and any time I hear them, I’m reminded of this damned video…

I heard the sound of doctors yelling out medical statistics and information…

I heard the the sound of a defibrillator being used after the doctor’s “Clear!” signal…

Then I heard 2 synchronized flatlines…

And with that the video ended. I reached my limit and couldn’t hold it in any longer. I jumped up and ran to the bathroom. I wasn’t nauseous from the injuries or the blood but more at the events that that I had just witness unfold.

I flung open the door, hearing it bash into the wall behind me as I ran to the bathroom. I hunched over the toilet for about 2 minutes, my stomach making sure it had rid itself of it’s contents. I washed my hands then my face when I heard a slight rattle of the doorknob proceed by a knock on the door.

“Dude, you okay? Do you want me to call someone or something?” Dani asked 

I sighed. “No. I-I’ll be out in a sec.” I replied.

I quickly dried my face and opened the door for Dani. I wasted no time in getting to the subject on both of our minds.

“They’re fucking dead.” 

Dani immediately tensed up at not knowing what to respond with. 

“Don’t think like that! Maybe they were revived after the video ended, we don’t know!”

“Dani, I’ve never seen anyone hooked to as many machines as they were. They’re not even breathing on their own for God’s Sakes!” 

Dani was about to say something but my text ringtone shut her up before she said anything. 

I looked at my phone to see a text from my friend, Ethan. Once unlocking my phone, I got an actual look at the text. It was a picture and Ethan had elaborated more in the same text. It read:

“Okay so I was on Twitter and I saw “PrayForPhan” was trending so I looked into it. And I saw this tweet after some digging around. I don’t really know what it means but it has something to do with Dan and Phil so I figured you might. Take a look, I guess.“

I clicked on the picture and it was a tweet from Martyn’s Twitter, it was posted just minutes before the text. Apparently, some fans had the same doubts as Dani so they asked Martyn. 

Unfortunately, he confirmed that Dan and Phil had died after the video ended. The doctors did try but in the end it was useless. I stopped reading then and there, that was all I could handle

I gave the phone to Dani and she saw the text along with the picture. Her eyes dropped in disappointment as her attempts to calm me down were now meaningless.

I walked back into my room and changed into my PJ’s in the closet. I got in the bed and just laid there; Dani changed as well and did the same bringing the laptop with her. She sat on the left side while I rested on my side on the right side.

“Hey, how about you show me who these Dan and Phil people are?” Dani said with a sad smile combined with a pair of empathetic eyes.

“You mean ‘were’ not ‘are’.” I said

“No, I meant what to say what I said.” 

“What’re you talking about?” 

“Nevermind, now come on. Let’s watch some Dan and Phil.” She said as she clicked “Cringe Attack”

We spent the rest of the day on a Dan and Phil marathon until the late hours of the night. I woke up at around 11:00am, the next morning. My memories of yesterday came flooding back and I reached for the laptop across a sleeping Dani. I got on Tumblr and was bombarded with Dan and Phil tributes ranging from simple thank you’s to fanart to stories of how they changed someone’s life. I closed the laptop, laid it on the bedside next to me and tried to go back to sleep, back to a place where this wasn’t happening.

Dani awoke later and insisted that I was fine. I knew she didn’t but she probably thought confronting me would make things worse. We continued with our sleepover plans and I momentarily forgot about the outside world. 

On Monday, however, Dani’s mom came and picked her up. I cleaned up and hopped back into bed. I had no real reason to go outside so why bother?

My family all came back that same day but I didn’t tell my parents since I knew they wouldn’t understand why their teenage daughter was crying over 2 men she barely knew. At the same time, I understood but I was still mad as to why they would think that.

As for my brothers, there was no need to tell them; they had already heard about it at ComicCon. They had also seen fans breaking down in tears and disbelief in the middle of the convention center. 

“It hard to watch but you didn’t really have a choice.” My brother told me.

They thought this was something I should handle by myself… 

Soon, the news articles started popping up. They documented everything and even shed some light on some deatils. From what I read: 

The tour bus collided with an 18-wheeler. When paramedics got there, Dan and Phil were already in critical condition; it was just a matter of keeping them alive as long as possible. But they didn’t even last 1 day, they went into cardiac arrest the same day and didn’t make it. 

I didn’t keep up with the Phan tag nor the RIPDanandPhil tag but ever so slightly, many began to accept their deaths and moved on.

I was a part of those who didn’t. Even as the new school year began, I still cried at the thought of them. I was caught in the web of my grief and holding on tight, not letting go anytime soon.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~   
The bell jolted me out of my thoughts. All the   
kids rushed out the door and I waited as they all cleared out. I walked to then out the school gate entrance when someone grabbed on my shoulder, it was Kathy 

“Eva! We’re going to the movies right now, wanna come along?”

“Oh um… no thanks. I don’t really feel like going out today, maybe next time?”

Kathy looked concerned for a second but then brushed it off. 

"Oh well, suit yourself. I gotta go so text me later!” She ran off before I could respond.

I quickly got back home and melted into the living room couch. My phone read 3:46, still an hour before everyone else got home. I quickly checked Tumblr and Twitter, just to see many 1-year death anniversary posts for Dan and Phil. I turned my phone off and put it to the side. I turned on the TV and settled on a rerun of a children’s TV show. 

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. I stood up and answered it. I saw the mailman there with a package for me and I signed for it. I closed the door and inspected the box. I was shipped to me from Dani. We lived in different cities that were within driving distance from each other. I opened the package and was greeted by a letter.

Dear Eva,

It’s been awhile huh? Well, I guess all I can say is I hope you’re doing well. My mom made the entire family clean out their rooms. And I found this. I don’t really need it and you did let me borrow it so I’m giving it back to you. Well, that’s all I wanted to say. Remember to call if you ever need something, see you soon.

-Sincerely, Dani

I looked in the box and saw my old The Amazing Book Is Not On Fire copy. I vividly remembered letting Dani borrow it with the intent of getting rid of it just to save me some heartbreak when I looked at it.

I took the book and began flipping through it. Memories came back but this time, happy memories. Ones of watching the trailer for the book, initially getting the book, following along with both the UK and US tour, and the hour long marathons of Dan and Phil videos.

That’s when I realized what Dani had meant by the “Who these Dan and Phil people are” Dan and Phil died, yes. But they died doing what they loved. They might’ve not had a long life but they have a fun filled life. And they didn’t die without leaving a legacy. They left this book, millions of lives forever changed for the better, and thousands of videos documenting their quirky lives together to the end. In a way, they’re still alive and they always will be. That’s more than you can say for most people 

I put the book down and picked up my phone. I dailed Dani

“Hello?” I heard her answer.

“Dani, I just realized something and I need- I just really need to tell someone.” I heard myself saying in tears. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“God damnit, what’s the date again.” I thought looking up from the test paper and toward the calendar.

May 28, 2018

“Oh yea, It was May 28th. Of course, I’d have a pop quiz today of all days.” I thought once again.

After 30 minutes and with 10 minutes to spare, I turned in my quiz. I pulled out a book I keep in my backpack and pretended to read...

After 2 years without Dan and Phil, everyone, including me, moved on but didn’t forget. Of course, the Tumblr posts about them were rare now but not unseen. That’s just how life works, the new replaces the old, not necessarily for the better, but it still does.

All we have is the knowledge that Dan and Phil died living their dream and life to the fullest. They didn’t die in vain; on the contrary, the left a sea of reminders as to who they were. As to who Dan Howell and Phil Lester were.


End file.
